They sought to escape samsara by stopping the process of karma by not acting

The Buddha saw the sramana and materialistic lifestyles to be too extreme, which led him to create the Middle Path

Buddha

Means "the Awakened One"

This name was given to Siddhartha Gautama after he achieved enlightenment

According to Buddhist beliefs, there is a Buddha for each age, Gautama is just the Buddha of our age The Buddha is one of the three Refuges

Shakyamuni/Siddhartha Gautama

Both are names for the Buddha

Shakyamuni means "the sage from Sakyas)

History has proved that this is a real person who became known as the Buddha after attaining enlightenment

Boddhisattva

"Being-awakened"

a person who is on the path of attaining enlightenment, they are usually pretty far along

It generally means a future Buddha

Jataka

Literally means "Birth Story"

It is a collection of 550 tales of the Buddha's past lives as a Bodhisattva

Begins with the tale of Sumati- the Brahmin boy who vows to Buddha of the age to attain enlightenment one day

Part of the Sutta Pitaka in the Pali Canon

Mara

Derived from the Sanskrit verb meaning "to die"

The name of the demon who tempted the Buddha with his three daughters- Discontent, Delight and Desire

It is depicted as a real individual in stories and is meant to personify temptation

4 Signs

When Siddhartha is a member of the royal class, he is kept in the palace by his father the King who wants his son to unify the kingdoms and be a great ruler, not a sage. He does this so he will only see happines

One day Siddhartha Gautama escaped the palace and he saw the 4 signs:

Old Man, Sick Man, Corpse, Ascetic

This convinced him that the world was imperfect and he knew he could not find happiness in samsara--> led him to seek enlightenment

Sujata

The first laywoman

She offered food to the Buddha right before he attained enlightenment

After eating the milk-rice, the Buddha realized how much more clear This led him to decided that the sramana path was too extreme

Rahula

The Buddha's son, his name means "to fetter"

His mother Yasodhara presented him to the Buddha after hearing he (her husband) had obtained enlightenment

Rahula became the first novice monk at age 7

Nirvana

Literally means to "blow out" or "extinguish"

It is the goal of Buddhist religious practice, an escape from samsara and suffering

It can be reached by following the 8-fold path

It is real but it is beyond our understanding and description, we have to experience it

There are two types (Parinirvana-Nirvana w/out remainder and Nirvana with Remainder_

Parinirvana

The final "blowing out"

A state of permanent Nirvana, ends samsara

It is Nirvana w/out Remainder

The Buddha achieved this at his death

Bodgaya

The birthplace of Buddhism

It is the place where the Buddha obtained enlightenment

He is said to have reached enlightenment at a bodhi tree (tree of liberation)

His meditation and insight led to:

1st Watch: his past lives

2nd Watch: sees others' past lives

3rd Watch: destroyed all desires an ignorance

4th Watch: calls the Earth to witness that his is awakened

Deer Park/Sarnuth

Where the Buddha preached his first sermon to the five ascetics

The 5 ascetics originally mocked the Buddha's Middle Path, but once realizing that he had reached Enlightenment, they followed him- became the first monks

Lumbini

Where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha

He lived here for the first part of his life until he saw the 4 signs and left to seek Enlightenment

Yashodhara

The wife of Siddhartha before he ronounced his wordly life to become a sramana

When she learned that the Buddha was her husband, she brought her son, Rahula, to him

He became the first Novice Monk

Mahaprajapati

The sister of Queen Maya, the mother of Siddhartha Gautama

After Queen Maya died, she raised Siddhartha

She became the first Buddhist nun

She led a group of women who followed the Buddha's teachings

Mt. Meru

The center of the Buddhist Cosmos

It is the center of the three realms:

The Desire Realm

The Form Realm

The Formless Realm

Where the Upper gods live

Depicted on the Wheel of Life

Three Realms of the World

Part of the Buddhist Cosmos, centered around Mt. Meru

The Desire Realm (kama-dhatu)

The Form Realm- (rupa-dhatu)

The Formless Realm (arupa-dhatu)

Each has sub realms

Dharmachakra

The Wheel of Life, symbolizes samsara, life cycle and the flow of life

It contains the 12 Links of Conditionality, the 6 realms you can be born into, and the 3 poisons

Yama- the Lord of Death holds the wheel of life, he weighs your karma at the time of your death

12 Links to Conditionality (Dependent Origination)

Depicted on the Outside of the Wheel of Life

Represents the idea that nothing in this world comes to be of its own volition, it follows the 12 links

Divided into features of: past life, present life and future life

1. Ignorance

2. Karma formations

3. Consciousness

4. Name and Form

5. 6 Sense Organs

6. Contact

7. Sensation

8. Craving

9. Clinging/Grasping

10. Becoming

11. Birth

12. Death/old age

Triratna

3 Jewels:

The Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

These are the 3 Refuges that practitioners take a vow to find refuge in the master, his teachings and teh community (his followers)

Refuge/Three Refuges

The 3 Jewels

This is the first step to becoming a monk--> you state refuge

You can enter Refuge as either a layperson or a monastic

The 3 Refuges are the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

Yama

The lord of Death

He is depicted as holding the wheel of life

He represents karma

Weights the good and bad deeds of a person at the time of their death

He is not actually a good- just a representation of the concept of karma

10 Non-Virtuous Actions

The are unwholesome actions

Also represented in the 10 precepts taken by monks

Divided into body, speech and mind

1. Killing

2. Stealing

3. Sexual Misconduct

4. Lying

5. Divisive Speech

6. Hurtful Speech

7. Gossip

8. Covetousness

9. Ill-will

10. Wrong Views

3 Characteristics of Samsara/ Cyclic Existence

Impermanence- nothing lasts forever or is permanently existing

No-Self- we do not have a self, we are just a combination of the 5 aggregates

Dissatisfactoriness- "duhka"the world is inherently dissatisfactory, happiness is impermanent

Dependent Arising

All things arise and pass away due to certain conditions. When necessary conditions are present to support a thing's existence, it comes to be (as a combination of the 5 aggregates)

This was very important to the dharma of the Buddha, comprehension of dependent arising is necessary to the awakened Buddhist experience of life

5 Aggregates

We do not have a self (atman), but we are instead are constituted by the 5 aggregates:

Form

Sensaton

Perception

Mental Formation

Consciousness

Anatman

The Buddhist idea of no-self

We do not have souls that transfer from life to life, we are only ever constituted by the 5 aggregates and come about due to dependent arising

Contradicts the Hindu idea of a pure, eternal self (atman)

4 Noble Truths (Arya-Satyas)

The basic teachings of the Buddha:

1. Life is Dissatisfactory, suffering

2. The origination/cause of suffering (craving, desire)

3. The cessastion of suffering (nirvana)

4. The way leading to cessation of suffering (8 fold path)

8 Fold Path

Path that leads to Nirvana or cessation of suffering. Part of the 4th Noble Truth

It is the way to bring samsara to an end, but is not meant to be checked of one by one

1. Right Understanding

2. Right Thought

3. Right Speech

4. Right Action

5. Right Livelihood

6. Right Effort

7. Right Mindfulness

8. Right Concentration

Dana

"giving" or "charity"

For the layperson, it means giving food, clothing, etc to the monastic members of the sangha. For a monastic, it means giving advice, teachings, etc to the laity.

Shamata

Calm Meditation

It is meant to cultivate concentration

It is the basic practices of metiation which needs harmony between physical presence and posture

Only with a calm mind can you contemplate the issues (through Insight meditation)

Vipassana

Insight Meditation

Cultivates Wisdom, but you must have a basis of calm meditation before you can start contemplating issues